BNSF and CPKC raise Pacific Northwest grain tariffs by up to $225 a car
North American grain rail fuel surcharges averaged 48 cents per railcar mile in September, up from 19 cents a year earlier, and tariffs on some export routes rise in October.
The 48-cent figure is the North American weighted average tracked by the US Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), with each Class I railroad weighted by its share of grain traffic in the previous year. The September 2026 rate was unchanged from August and 28 cents above the prior three-year average for the month.
Rail carries a large share of US grain. Railroads move about 1.6 million carloads of grain a year, and the Association of American Railroads, citing USDA data, puts rail’s share at 24% of grain moved within the US and 39% of grain shipped for export.
October adds $200 to $225 per car on Pacific Northwest routes
From October, tariffs from the western Corn Belt to Pacific Northwest export terminals rise by $200 per car at BNSF-served origins and by $225 per car at origins served by Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), AMS reported on 24 September. The increases come as farmers have already started this year’s harvest.
The fuel surcharge is billed on top of the tariff. In September, BNSF charged a $611 surcharge on a $6,255 tariff to move a car of soybeans from Argyle, Minnesota, to the Pacific Northwest. CPKC added $1,075 to a $5,047 tariff for corn from Enderlin, North Dakota, to Kalama, Washington. Railway Supply has published per-car surcharges on more grain routes earlier this month.
Guaranteed capacity for next year also costs more. On 23 September, BNSF auctioned 13 year-long shuttle train contracts starting in January 2027 for a combined $17.2 million. The average winning bid was $1.3 million per contract, more than twice the $595,000 average in the auction for shuttles that began in January 2026.
| Indicator | Latest value | Year-earlier comparison |
|---|---|---|
| Grain carloads loaded by US Class I railroads, week ending 12 September | 28,001 | 24,221 in the same week of 2025 (+16%) |
| Unfilled manifest grain car orders, average of the four weeks to 11 September | 2,125 | 762 in the same four weeks of 2025 |
| Average secondary-market bid or offer over tariff for September shuttle cars, week ending 17 September | $525 per car | $228 higher than a year earlier |
| Secondary-market bid or offer over tariff for BNSF October shuttle cars, 17 September | $1,100 per car | $581 higher than a year earlier |
Grain loadings and unfilled car orders both ran above 2025 levels in September, and secondary-market bids and offers for shuttle cars were higher than a year earlier.
Secondary-market values are average bids and offers above the published tariff for rail cars traded on the secondary market. They are market indicators, not prices of completed deals. Source: AMS Grain Transportation Report, 24 September 2026.
Record diesel reaches surcharges with a two-month lag
Most Class I railroads set the fuel surcharge from the US average diesel price two months earlier, AMS explained in July. A May price of $5.60 a gallon set the July surcharge of 61 cents a mile, which AMS recorded as the highest in its data series, above the previous peak of September 2008. June’s $5.02 set the lower August rate.
Diesel has climbed since then. The US average passed the previous record of $5.810 a gallon from June 2022 in early September and reached $6.529 in the week ending 21 September, 278 cents higher than a year earlier. Under the two-month formula, most Class I lines will base the November surcharge on the monthly average diesel price for September, not on a single weekly figure. AMS has not yet published that rate.
Merger review continues into November
The Surface Transportation Board (STB) is also reviewing the revised merger application of Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern. BNSF, CSX Transportation, a coalition of shipper associations and others had argued that the railroads did not show enough initial evidence that the deal would serve the public interest. On 18 September, the board denied their motions for summary denial of the application. Parties that want to take full part must file notices of intent by 30 September, and the deadline for comments and requested conditions is 18 November.
